* Wheat up 0.1 pct after declining 3.6 pct on Thursday
* Easing U.S. crop concerns, large global inventories limit gains
(Adds details, quotes)
By Naveen Thukral
SINGAPORE, May 5 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures edged higher on Friday as
the market took a breather following last session's deep losses, which were
triggered by a crop tour forecasting above-average yields despite last weekend's
snowstorm.
Corn rose around half a percent while soybeans ticked up after closing
marginally lower with the focus on planting weather in the U.S. Midwest, which
is expected to be favourable for crops.
The Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat contract was up 0.1
percent at $4.38 a bushel by 0301 GMT after dropping 3.6 percent in the previous
session.
Corn added 0.5 percent to $3.68-1/4 a bushel and soybeans gained
0.1 percent to $9.75-1/4 a bushel.
"The amount of snow that fell in the U.S. grain belt took the market a while
to digest how much wheat is going to be lost but the reality is that the global
supply outlook is unchanged," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist,
National Australia Bank.
"In this environment how do you sustain a rally. There might be some
downside to production in the U.S. but you have huge inventories and crops are
looking good everywhere else."
For the week, wheat is up 1.3 percent, a second week of gains while soybeans
have added almost 2 percent, the biggest weekly gain since Feb. 10. Corn is up
for a second week.
Wheat has come under heavy pressure in recent days as fears of production
losses after recent cold weather across key growing regions eased.
Wheat yield potential in Kansas was estimated at 46.1 bushels per acre
(bpa), crop scouts on the annual Wheat Quality Council crop tour said on
Thursday. That tops the tour's five-year average for the state.
Concerns linger that recent wet weather in the United States may have washed
away recently planted corn and soybeans crops.
But forecasts for drier weather in key growing areas of the U.S. Midwest are
likely to result in a pick up in the pace of planting.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, wheat and soyoil futures
contracts on Thursday, traders said. They were net buyers of soybeans and
soymeal.
Grains prices at 0301 GMT
Contract Last Change Pct chg Two-day chg MA 30 RSI
CBOT wheat 438.00 0.25 +0.06% -3.52% 439.48 52
CBOT corn 368.25 1.75 +0.48% -1.73% 368.93 45
CBOT soy 975.25 1.00 +0.10% +0.00% 963.77 63
CBOT rice 9.90 $0.00 -0.05% -0.10% $10.10 57
WTI crude 45.37 -$0.15 -0.33% -5.12% $50.03 17
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.098 $0.000 -0.04% +0.90%
USD/AUD 0.7394 -0.001 -0.18% -0.36%
Most active contracts
Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per
hundredweight
RSI 14, exponential
(Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)